Skeptical Faith

Google Image I’ve noticed that as I grow older, I’m less likely to have bouts of anger – something that in the past I’ve had more often than I care to admit or recall. Though I may not find myself angry as often, I’m more interested in the subject of anger. One moment of enlightenment about anger occurred years ago when I realized that anger almost always hurts me more than the person with whom I’m angry. In other words, when I’m angry, I’m miserable. So what makes people angry? It’s undoubtedly complex, but writing in “Living City,” a publication of the Focolare Movement ( https://www.focolare.org/en/ ), Jerry Hearne recalls reading about an incident of road rage in which one driver regretted his violent reaction and tried to analyze it. “If the driver were able to catch even one of the avalanche of thoughts that assailed him immediately before his anger struck,” writes Hearne, “it could hypothetically be, ‘People always disrespect me’ or ‘Nobody’s gonna mess with me….’” W

Google Image In the newsroom at the newspaper where I worked was a sign saying, “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.” The message, of course, is that nothing is certain, even a mother’s love. And that has shown to be true. Some few mothers abandon their children, injure them or even kill them. Reporters aren’t supposed to be satisfied with what appears to be true but are urged to “check out” even the most seemingly certain of statements or situations. What We Have in Common Fact is, we’re all searching for certainty. Scientists, atheists, religious people and people searching for God – all have that in common. But most of us have discovered that certainty, even about something as solid as a mother’s love, is illusive.   “Nothing is certain but death and taxes,” goes the famous maxim. But we know that of those two, only death is really certain. Tax laws change, and there are many people on the planet who pay no taxes.  Some people think of science as the u

Google Image My best friend – after my wife and kids – is Father Gerald Waris. We’ve been friends for at least 72 years when his family moved in “across the alley” from mine. We attended elementary school together and played together in the neighborhood. We went to high school together, then college, then a Catholic seminary. During several summers, we worked together at a brewery. We were ordained priests on the same day. After six years as a priest, I asked for a dispensation from my priestly promises but have never regretted my seminary education, my time as a priest, my leaving the priesthood nor, of course, my friendship with Gerald. He remained in the ministry, faithfully serving in over a half dozen parishes. He is now retired but still busy serving others. He celebrates Mass in several parishes – providing homilies that are honest, humorous and meaningful. He performs weddings and funerals for the dozens of people who want “Father Waris to do it.” He is compassionate

Google Image I once wrote a newspaper story about a man in his mid-80s who cared for his wife who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at a young age. She was mostly unresponsive and could not feed, bathe or dress herself. The man cared for her at home, doing almost everything for her, and he had been doing so for over 10 years. He carried around an old-fashioned, wind-up alarm clock, which bulged from the pocket of his sport coat. It rang every four hours, day and night, to remind him to give her her meds. Meeting him was a powerful reminder of the lengths some people go to care for others. An expression of love, obviously. Or you might call it dedication to duty. Or it could be called by a name that is seldom used today, loyalty. Little Sense of Loyalty Many evidently consider the word old-fashioned. But it’s not just the word, but the value itself that has lost favor. Fewer employees appear to be loyal to their employers, and vice versa. People feel little sens